Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Renews MoU with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
From December 11 to 17, a delegation from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences visited the United Kingdom, renewing a new round of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and conducting exchange visits to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This visit marks a new phase in the long-term cooperation between the two institutions in the field of plant diversity research and conservation.
During the visit, the delegation held multiple working meetings and thematic exchanges with RBGE Director Simon Milne, Deputy Director and Head of Science Pete Hollingsworth, as well as relevant research, horticulture, and education teams. They engaged in in-depth discussions on plant diversity conservation, joint research, horticultural techniques, public education, and capacity building, reaching consensus on future key cooperation priorities.
The delegation systematically explored RBGE's living plant collections, herbarium, and research support systems at its Edinburgh headquarters, gaining insights into its experiences in ex-situ conservation, plant resource management, and research platform development. They also visited the Logan Botanic Garden and Benmore Botanic Garden under RBGE, focusing on subtropical plant introduction, mountain plant conservation, and horticultural management practices.
Building on past cooperation achievements, both parties renewed the MoU, clarifying the direction of future five-year collaboration in scientific research, living plant resource management, talent development, public education, and capacity building for Initiative for Collective Conservation in Chinese Botanical Gardens（ICCBG）. This provides stable institutional support for deepening cooperation.
Additionally, the delegation visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, focusing on its Children's Garden and public education system, exchanging experiences in science education models, public engagement mechanisms, and international cooperation.
This visit has further consolidated the strategic partnership between XTBG and major UK botanical research and conservation institutions, laying a solid foundation for higher-level and more pragmatic cooperation in addressing global biodiversity conservation and sustainable development challenges.
XTBG & RBGE renewed the MoU
